Hannah Overton - Why Exeter

It’s unlikely that anybody coming to Exeter city centre for a shop or bite to eat, wouldn’t at some point take a stroll through Princesshay. This myriad of shops and restaurants, right in the city centre is also often home to art exhibitions, events and pop-up shops, from festive stalls at Christmas to summer bars, big screens, family events and other experiences throughout the year.

But have you ever given any thought to what goes on behind the scenes? One member of the team beavering away in the background is Hannah Overton - marketing and commercial manager at Princesshay. We decided to have a chat with her to discover her #Exeterstory.

Hannah originally hails from North Devon but after a spell at university in Leeds, followed by a job in London, she decided to head back west to Exeter, spending time with her now husband who was training as a teacher in the city at the time.

She said: “I am a Devon girl through and through, growing up on a beautiful farm on the North Devon coast. My first experience of Exeter was as a teen, catching a rickety train down from Barnstaple with friends for a day of shopping.”

Hannah now lives in Heavitree and says that she loves the community feel in the area.

She said: “My new local hang out has got to be Park Café and Hub in Heavitree Pleasure Ground. It’s a beautifully designed space with a delicious, freshly made menu where you’re guaranteed to bump into a friendly face.”

We were keen to find out from Hannah how she thinks Exeter has changed since moving here 15 years ago.

She told us: “I think Exeter has changed massively. There has been huge investment and I think the city, particularly in the last decade has really improved in terms of collaboration to promote everything on offer whether that’s high street brands, independent and specialist shops and streets, cultural venues, festivals, and markets.

“Exeter is ambitious and packed with creativity and innovation, but it’s also small enough that you bump into people, find mutual connections and I also love the willingness and enthusiasm to work together for the greater good.”

Of course, we couldn’t chat to Hannah without covering the subject of Princesshay itself.

She told us proudly: “What I love about my job is the opportunity to work with partners from across the city to make fun and exciting stuff happen. In my opinion, the future of the city centre depends on us continuing to create amazing experiences for people, so they want to keep coming back!

“I think what’s striking about Princesshay as a shopping and leisure destination is the quality of design and the heritage setting which frames views of the Cathedral and the old Roman Wall.

Hannah says that Princesshay’s success is all down to the team working behind the scenes.

She said: “I really enjoy working as part of a small but ambitious team that doesn’t sit still or repeat what’s always gone before but is brave and looks for opportunities to improve the experience for both our customers (the tenants) and visitors to the centre.

Thanks so much to Hannah for sharing her Exeter story. Got your own story of the city to tell? Get in touch with us at exeterlivebetter@exeter.gov.uk